Get Out (2017) Movie Review

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is a young black man who is dating Rose (Allison Williams), a young white woman. Rose asks Chris to come home to her parents for the first time, and Chris has some reservations, knowing she hasn’t yet told her parents that he is black. She assures him that her parents are very Liberal and not at all racist. When Chris arrives though, he quickly finds out that he is the only black man in the area, save for the house and groundskeepers, who seem to be acting strangely unemotional around him. And when the family invites all their friends over for a dinner, he becomes even more uncomfortable, as he is treated less like a person and more like a curiosity. Does this family hide a dark secret, or is Chris really just being paranoid?

There’s nothing worrying about this… right?

A Toast

Comedy performer/writer Jordan Peele’s directoral debut takes him far outside his typical comfort zone. There are some moments of comedy in Get Out; however, this is the exception rather than the rule. The humor is used to bring needed levity to what is otherwise a taut, creepy horror film. Peele knows that there are few things more horrifying than being stuck in a situation where you feel like the center of attention, but also out of place. Add to that the context of racism and the history of race relations in America, and Get Out becomes even more tense.

Shockingly tense

Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener are perfectly cast as the forward-thinking, Left of Center parents who live the lie of a post-racial America. It is far too easy to dismiss racists as being always right-wing nutjobs, when the truth is racism defies political standing. In fact, the impact of racism can often be even more powerful when it comes from indirect sources. Chris is objectified in a way that is no less dehumanizing than if they just overtly discriminated against him.

Lil Rel Howery is the film’s primary comic relief as Chris’s friend Rod. Rod also serves as the film’s commentary by the audience. As the story progresses, Rod is there to guide the audience through and point out how truly fucked up Chris’s situation is.

The scariest cup of tea you’ll ever have

Beer Two

Get Out has one issue to it that I can’t ignore, and it is one to which many horror films fall victim. The denouement in the final act requires the villains to have made a series of very big mistakes, mistakes that are seemingly out of character for the calculating, super-genius way they have acted up to this point. Since many horror films do this, it’s not a film-killing flaw, but it keeps this from being a full toast.

Verdict

Get Out is a truly horrifying and tense movie with a brilliant satirical edge that elevates it beyond simple genre filmmaking.

Get Out (2017) Drinking Game

Take a Drink: whenever Chris should really just GET THE FUCK OUT

Take a Drink: for awkward white-people questions/comments about black culture

About Oberst von Berauscht

Oberst Von Berauscht once retained the services of a Gypsy to imbue in him the ability to accurately describe the artistic qualities of a film up to seven decimal points. To maintain this unique skill, he must feast on the blood of a virgin every Harvest Moon, or failing that (and he usually does), he can also make a dog do that thing they do where they twist their heads slightly (you know, when they're confused about something) at least a few times a week. I've gotten way off track here... The point is, Oberst is one of the website's founders, so... yeah